The exact origins of the ancient town of Telmessos, over which the modern town of  Two earthquakes in 1956 and 1957 destroyed a large number of its ancient monuments. Fortunately the collection of rock tombs cut into the cliff has remained intact. In fact, it can be said that Fethiye boasts some of the best Lycian.

Kaunos : According to Herodotos, the inhabitants of Kaunos considered themselves descendants of Architectural and structural elements of the so-called Roman Theatre are of evident Further up stand what is left of the Roman Baths, of a Palaestra almost certainly of the same period, a Byzantine place of Myra.

These ruins include a score of tombs arranged on the cliff in a jumble overlooking the sea; perhaps this is the most amazing collection of rock tombs in the whole of Anatolia. Myra comes from the Greek word "mirra"; we know for certain that it dates back at least as far as the 5^th century B.C. and was one of the most important towns in the Lycian Federation. Its superiority lasted in time; in fact, during the Byzantine era Theodosius II promoted it to capital of Lycia. Unfortunately, its promotion coincided with the Arab predations that commenced during the 7th century and continued for over two centuries. In 809, Myra was conquered by Harun el-Rashid and the city was gradually abandoned.

Evidence of its glorious past are the rock tombs dating back to the Lycian era and the Greco-Roman theatre. On the subject of its unique necropolis, it was a Lycian custom to bury their dead high up because they believed that in this way they were more easily transported to heaven. These funeral monuments date from the 6th to the 3rd century B.C.: built isolatedly or cut out of the rock-face, several of the facades have flat or sloping roofs carved to imitate wooden beams supported by pillars, suggesting that they are copied in form from wooden temples; the Greek temple is revealed by the rich decorated architraves. 

The richness of decorations — some still have traces of color and in particular the magnificence of sculptured bas-reliefs, usually portraying the dead person surrounded by his family, testify to the exceptional taste and artistic sense of local artists for the time.

The same decorative taste can be found in the theatre, built in Greek style, that is, against a hill with fourteen flights of steps dividing the cavea in thirteen sectors, with twenty-nine rows of seats in the lower part and nine in the upper. Here too the stage wall featured bas-reliefs with garlands, friezes and theatrical masks.